Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure more cancer patients have the opportunity to take part in CAR T-cell therapy clinical trials.

The Department is committed to maximising the United Kingdom’s potential to lead the world in clinical research, with the aim of ensuring that all patients, including those with cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

The Department-funded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trials examining CAR T-cell therapy.

The NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) are collaborations between world-leading universities and National Health Service organisations, which take cutting-edge cancer research from the laboratory and rapidly translate it into clinical trials in a hospital setting. The University College London Hospitals BRC is revolutionising cancer care with the next-generation of CAR-T cell therapies for patients that deliver powerful remissions with fewer side effects, particularly in the treatment of leukaemia and other solid tumours.

The NIHR also provides an online service called Be Part of Research, which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them.